Trading on the floor of the Nigerian Stock exchange sustained its bullish runs from last week as investors gained N35.9bn as market capitalization rose to N12.0tn while year to date loss moderated to -14.0 percent.
The All share index Index advanced 30bps to close at 23,089.86 points due to price appreciation in MTN Nigeria (+3.6percent), Union bank of Nigeria (UBN) (+3.7percent) and Dangote sugar (+2.8percent).
Activity level waned as volume and value traded fell 30.5percent and 26.5percent to 249.9m units and N2.4bn respectively.
The most active stocks by volume were Guaranty Trust bank (44.5m units), FBNH (40.7m units) and United bank for Africa (24.8m units) while Gtb (N935.2m), zenith (N328.5m) and FBNH (N187.4m) led the value chart.
Sector performance was mixed as 3 of 6 indices cover gained. The AFR-ICT and Oil & Gas indices led gainers, up 2.0percent and 0.7percent respectively following buying interest in MTNN (+3.6percent), Ardova (+10.0percent) and Oando (+1.2percent).
Similarly, the Consumer Goods index appreciated 15bps on the back of gains in Vitafoam (+3.8percent) and dangote sugar (+2.8percent).
On the flip side, the Insurance and Industrial Goods indices slipped 2.0percent and 1.3percent respectively due to price declines in NEM (-10.0percent), LASACO (-3.7percent) and WAPCO (-4.6percent) while losses in Access bank (-7.6percent) and Fidelity Bank (-5.0percent) dragged the banking index 0.2percent lower.
Also, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc released its Unaudited Q3:2019 Result which saw revenue rose 3.9percent Y-o-Y to N20.8bn from N20.0bn in Q3:2018, while the company recorded loss after tax of (N1.9bn) from (N414.2m) in Q3:2018.
Okomu Oil Palm Plc (Unaudited Q1:2020 Result): Turnover surged 65.5percent Y-o-Y to N6.9bn from N4.2bn in Q1:2019 while PAT surged 101.4percent Y-o-Y to N2.0bn from N1.0bn in Q1:2019.